The question of who’s in charge of the Redskins front office finally has an answer, and it’s not general manager Scot McCloughan, because he has been fired.  

In a statement, the team announced McCloughan has been relieved of his duties. The move comes after a chaotic month where the Redskins refused to answer any questions pertaining to McCloughan’s status with the team. 

McCloughan’s future with the Redskins took a turn for the worse in February when he was reportedly asked not to attend the NFL combine. McCloughan was also kept out of the decison-making process as the team prepared to put together its plans for free agency, which began Thursday. 

According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, that left team president Bruce Allen in charge. Allen released the statement about McCloughan’s firing. 

“The Washington Redskins have released Scot McCloughan from the organization effective immediately,” Allen said. “We wish him success in his future endeavors. The team will have no further comment on his departure. The organization remains confident in our personnel department as we execute our free agency plans as well as prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.”

When McCloughan disappeared from the public eye in February, former Redskins tight end Chris Cooley went on a radio station owned by Redskins owner Dan Snyder and theorized that McCloughan’s very public alcohol issues might have resurfaced. 

A team source told the Washington Post that McCloughan’s alcohol problems were definitely an issue for the team. 

“He’s had multiple relapses due to alcohol,” the anonymous team official said. “He showed up in the locker room drunk on multiple occasions. ... This has been a disaster for 18 months.”

McClougan’s agent, Peter Schaffer, recently told Pro Football Talk that his client’s month-long absence had nothing to do with alcohol abuse. 

The Post reached out to six players who all said they never felt there was a point where McCloughan wasn’t able to do his job. One Post reporter even claimed that the team used McClougan’s alcohol issues as an excuse to fire him. 

According to La Canfora, the team has spent the past month looking for possible candidates to fill McClougan’s role as general manager. 

McCloughan was hired by the Redskins in January 2015 and immediately helped construct a team that put together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1996-97. 

The firing of McCloughan adds more drama to to the Redskins’ soap opera this offseason. Besides McCloughan missing the combine, the team is also dealing with the Kirk Cousins situation. Also, Washington lost its two top receivers in free agency, with Pierre Garcon heading to San Francisco and DeSean Jackson joining the Buccaneers

As for McCloughan, the Post reported that this is the third time he has lost a job over alcohol issues. The scouting guru also worked for the 49ers and Seahawks

During five seasons in San Francisco (2005-09), including two as general manager, McCloughan was responsible for draft classes that included Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Patrick Willis and Michael Crabtree.

In Seattle, McCloughan helped Seahawks general manager John Schneider find key talent like quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman in the draft. McCloughan and Schneider interviewed Wilson at the Senior Bowl for over two hours in 2012.  

McCloughan left San Francisco after the 2009 season for the same reason he left Seattle in 2014, to tend to a private matter, which reportedly had to do with alcohol abuse.